Maryland Forts

American Forts: East

MARYLAND

Last Update: 29/MARCH/2008

Compiled by Pete Payette - Š2008 American Forts Network

Fort Lincoln (1)
(Point Lookout State Park)
(1864 - 1865), Point Lookout
Built by Confederate POW labor when Washington was threatened by Confederate General Early's raid, and a prison break was feared. It is the only surviving fortification of three that guarded Camp Hoffman (2), the stockaded POW camp established in 1863. It is a small four-sided earthen fort with four reconstructed buildings, and the remains of a powder magazine. It is located on the Potomac River side of the peninsula. The war ended before construction was complete. The site of the other two works, Redoubts #2 and #3 were located on the Chesapeake Bay side above the prison camp stockade. They were smaller circular earthen works with a moat, armed with four guns each, and a wooden observation tower in the center. Both have eroded away. A marker locates one of the redoubts offshore. Camp Cross, one of the cantonments for the Union garrison, was located outside the prison stockade to the north. 50,000 Confederate POWs were here at one time or another. The state fishing pier is at the site of the prison camp. There are some remains of the prison camp's ditch, as well as a reconstructed portion of the stockade wall. Most of the site has eroded away. Hammond General Hospital was built in 1862, located at the point near the lighthouse. The lightouse was built in 1830, remodled in 1883. It is off limits to the public at the present time. A museum is at the park's visitor center. Admission fee.

St. Ignatius Fort
(1644 - 1655), Beachville
A fort was erected on Fort Point after the St. Mary's fort fell into disrepair. It did not last long itself, as it was destroyed by Virginians. Also known as St. Inigoes Fort. Located at Fort Point on the St. Mary's River, at NAS Patuxent River-Webster Field Annex.
An American Third System fort was proposed for this location, but never built.

St. Mary's Fort
(Historic St. Mary's City)
(1634 - 1637), St. Mary's City
A 120-foot square palisaded fort with four bastions (blockhouses) was located here but later became neglected and abandoned. This is a reconstruction of the first permanent English settlement in the state. Located here is a replica of the Dove which brought those settlers. Also located here is a reconstruction of the 1676 state house. The town remained the state capital until 1695. Admission fee. The first landing was located upriver at St. Clement's Island (aka Blackistone's Island).

Cumberland Archaeological Site
(1575 - 1600), Calvert County
A palisaded Patuxent Indian town on the north-side of Turner's Cove on the Patuxent River, on the point just north of the mouth of Hellen Creek. Site excavated in 1983. To date (2006) this is the only known palisaded site on the Patuxent River. This may have been the site of the Patuxent Indian town Opanient which was noted on John Smith's map of 1608.

Fort at St. Leonard's Creek
(Jefferson Patterson Park)
(1814), Wallville
A Federal Naval battery secretly built to attack the British ships in the Patuxent River in order for the American gunboats to break out of the British blockade of the Potomac River. It was armed with five heavy guns and three field guns, with a hot-shot furnace. This was the scene of the Second Battle of St. Leonard's Creek on June 26, 1814, the largest naval battle in Maryland waters.

Pawtuxunt
(c. 1600), near Mutual
A major Patuxent Indian town on the east-side of Battle Creek, south of Long Cove, noted on John Smith's map of 1608. Possible site never excavated, unknown if palisaded.

Camp Stanton
(1863 - 1864), Benedict
A Union training camp for Negro troops.

¤ Annapolis Defenses

¤ Fort Severn
(U.S. Naval Academy)
(1808 - 1865 ?), Annapolis
An 11-gun circular masonry fort on Windmill Point. Garrisoned in 1814 on the threat of a British attack that never came. Transferred to the Navy in 1845 and became known as the Naval School at Fort Severn, renamed the United States Naval Academy in 1850. The Army took control again in 1861 - 65 while the Naval Academy transferred to Newport, Rhode Island. The old fort was demolished in 1909. A plaque is on Bancroft Hall.
A Patriot fort was built on Windmill Point in 1776.

¤ Fort Madison
(1808 - 1873/1896), Annapolis
A 13-gun semi-elliptical fort located on Carr Point, at the present-day Naval Surface Warfare Center - Annapolis Detachment (Naval Ship Research and Development Center). This fort was rebuilt in the early 1850's. The land was transferred to the Navy in 1873. The remains of the fort were still evident in 1932, but were removed during WWII construction of the Naval Station. A Naval Experimental Battery was built in the 1870's at the eastern tip of Carr Point, for training of Naval Academy midshipmen. The Coast Guard (U.S. Lighthouse Board) acquired the land in 1896 for use as the Annapolis Lighthouse Depot. The Navy reacquired the land in 1937.

Fort Nonsense, an 80-foot diameter circular earthwork, was built in 1810 a half-mile north of Fort Madison, on Bieman's Hill near the Commandant's Quarters. Remnants still exist.

Patriot forts or batteries were built in 1776 at nearby Greenbury Point and on Bieman's Hill.

¤ Beaumont's Point Fort
(1776), Annapolis
A Patriot defense located on Beaumont's Point on the north-side of the Severn River.

¤ Fort Horn
(1776, 1813 - 1815), Annapolis
A local militia fort. Located on Horn Point near the present-day yacht club. A Federal work from 1795 was not completed then abandoned. No remains, actual site probably under water due to a 1933 hurricane.

¤ The Barracks
(1776), Annapolis
A private home located at 43 Pinkney Street, rented out as a billet for Patriot soldiers/Officers during the American Revolution. Exhibits on the first floor. Admission by apointment.

Camp Burnside
(1861), Annapolis
A Civil War training camp.

Camp Richmond
(1861 - 1864), Parole
A Civil War training camp.
Located adjacent was Camp Parole (1862 - 1863), a camp and hospital for returning Union POWs. It handled about 70,000 troops through its gates. Site now a shopping center.

Camp Laurel
(1918 - 1919), Laurel
An Army Corps of Engineers training camp and mobilization center, built to handle the overflow from Camp Meade. Located at the Laurel Racetrack.

Fort George G. Meade (U.S. Military Reservation)
(1917 - present), Annapolis Junction
A National Army cantonment training area for the 79th Division. Originally named Camp Meade (2). Later became an infantry replacement center and demobilization center. Most of the buildings were removed after the war. The post was renamed Fort Leonard Wood in 1928, but renamed again in 1929. A small log and stone cabin built in 1918 by the 314th Regiment, 79th Division, was relocated in 1921 to Valley Forge, PA, as a memorial to the troops. It became a Boy Scout museum in 1995.

Camp Kelsey
(1861 - 1864), Annapolis Junction
A Union camp guarding the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

Camp Relay House
(1861 - 1864), Relay
A Union camp with breastworks guarding the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

Camp Glen Burnie
(1917 - 1918), Glen Burnie
A temporary Army tent camp on the former Naval Rifle Range, built to handle the overflow from Camp Laurel.

(see page 2 for Greater Baltimore area forts.)

The Garrison Fort (park)
(1693 - unknown), Stevenson
This two-story stone structure is the oldest standing fort in the state. It was built as a frontier defense for the early settlements of Baltimore and Annapolis. May have been formally known as Olton's (Oulton's) Garrison and/or Risteau's Garrison. Located in a residential area on Garrison Farms Court.

Pikesville Arsenal
(1813 - 1879), Pikesville
A state arsenal. It became a home for Confederate veterans from 1888 until 1932. Now used by the Maryland State Police since 1950. A small museum is inside the facility.

Aberdeen Proving Ground
(U.S. Army Ordnance Museum)
(1917 - present), Aberdeen
Relocated from Fort Hancock, New Jersey. This is the U.S. Army's major weapons testing area. There are several World War II era observation towers on Pooles Island and other parts of the Proving Grounds. Included in the reservation is Edgewood Arsenal (1917 - present) in Edgewood, the site of Fort Hoyle (1922 - 1940) on Gunpowder Neck, and the site of Camp Rodman (1940's) near town.

Havre de Grace Batteries
(1813 - 1815), Havre de Grace
Local militia works to defend against the British. The main work was Concord Point Battery with three guns. The secondary work was Potato Battery, also with three guns, located where the lighthouse now stands. Attacked and destroyed by the British in May 1813. The lighthouse on Concord Point was built in 1827. One of the original guns is on display.

Fort Conquest
(1637), Garrett Island
Built by Maryland troops after evicting the Virginia traders under William Claiborne from the upper Chesapeake region. Claiborne had a trading post here, called Palmer's Island Post (1631 ?), hoping to have direct trade with the Susquehannocks to the north, bypassing the Patawomeck middlemen on the Potomac River. The island was renamed in 1885.

Port Deposit Battery
(1813 - 1815), Port Deposit
A local defense to protect Creswell's Ferry. It was not attacked by the British in the April - May 1813 raid.

Principio Furnace Battery
(1813 - 1815), Principio Furnace
A five-gun battery protected the iron works located here at the head of Furnace Bay, which was a major supplier to the Federal government. It was attacked by the British in April 1813.

Fort Defiance
(1813 - 1815), near Elkton
Located just south of town on the western shore of the river, about one mile downriver from Fort Hollingsworth at Fowler's Shore. The British attacked in April 1813 but were turned back by the local militia manning the fort.

Frenchtown Battery
(1813 - 1815), near Elkton
A local militia three-gun fort across the river from Fort Defiance. It was attacked and destroyed by the British in April 1813.

Fort Hollingsworth
(1813 - 1815), Elkton
A local militia fort at Elk Landing that was not attacked during the April - May 1813 British raid.

Fort Duffy
(1813), Fredericktown
A local defense that was destroyed by the British in May 1813.

Tockwogh
(c. 1600), Kentmore Park
A palisaded major Indian town on the south bank of the Sassafras River, probably located on Shrewsbury Neck, noted on John Smith's map of 1608. Exact site never determined (as of 2006). When Smith's party visited, they were already well stocked with French trade goods from Québec, which was founded only three weeks before.

Kent Island Posts
(1629 or 1631 - 1638, 1813), Kent Island
Fort Kent was located at or near Kent Point. This was the first English settlement in the state. A Virginia trading post under William Claiborne was established here in 1631 (or as early as 1629 ?). Fort Craford was built in 1634 on Craney Creek (at Chesapeake Estates) (no remains, actual site washed away). A double row of palisades stretched across the island on both sides of Fort Craford. Claiborne also had a trading post on Poplar Island to the south. Maryland took possession of Kent Island in 1638 and evicted the Virginians.

British forces established here Kent Island Camp, a temporary camp and supply depot in August 1813.

St. Michaels Batteries
(1813 - 1815), St. Michaels
Two state militia earthwork batteries, one located on Navy Point (Three Cedar Point) and a two-gun work (15 men) on Parrott's Point. A boom was placed in the harbor between the two points to prevent British ships from entering. The batteries and the town were bombarded by the British fleet in August 1814. The townspeople had hung lanterns in the trees to give the British gunners a false elevation, thereby sparing most buildings from harm.

Camp Kirby
(1860's), Easton
A Civil War training camp.

Camp Wallace
(1861), Cambridge
A Civil War training camp.

Camp Cambridge
(1864 - 1865), Cambridge
A Civil War training camp.

Chicone Archaeological Site
(1400 - 1600), near Vienna
A Late Woodland Period palisaded Indian town located on the east-side of the mouth of Chicone Creek, about one-half mile upstream. This was probably the later major Nanticoke Indian town Kuskarawaok, which was noted on John Smith's map of 1608, but it is uncertain if it was still palisaded by then. Archaeological surveys have recently been conducted.

Nanticoke Fort
(1670's ?), near Walnut Landing
A Nanticoke Indian fort was built west of Marshyhope Creek in the "Handsel" patent. "Nanticoke" was anglicized to "Chicone" after the 1640's. The Chicone Indian Reservation (between Chicone Creek and Marshyhope Creek) was set aside by Maryland in 1678, formally surveyed in 1698, and was disestablished in 1768.

Camp Upton
(1861), Salisbury
A Civil War training camp, and a Union base to control the Eastern Shore region. The site is now the Salisbury Times newspaper offices.

Camp Berlin
(1862 - 1863), Berlin
A Civil War training camp.

Askiminikansen Fort
(1670's ?), near Indiantown
An Assateague Indian fort already in existence in 1683 was reported here at the "Upper Indian Town" on the 300-acre "Castle Green" patent, located northeast of town along Acquango Brook. The Askiminikansen Indian Reservation (10,000 acres between Nassawango Creek and the Pocomoke River) was set aside by Maryland in 1678, formally surveyed in 1686, but simply ceased to exist after 1748 (it was never formally disestablished by the colonial government). The Pocomoke Indians occupied the "Lower Indian Town", mostly south of present-day MD 12.

Winnasoccum Fort
(1742), near Indiantown
An Indian fort built in the swamp during an abortive Indian uprising against the white settlers. Led by the Nanticokes and Shawnee advisors, the rebel group included Choptanks, Pocomokes, Assateagues, and others. The group dispersed after a few days.

Gallows Hill Camp
(1860's), Snow Hill
A Civil War training camp.

Camp Halleck
(1860's), Pocomoke City
A Civil War training camp located along the Pocomoke River. The town was originally named Newtown.

Rehobeth Camp
(1860's), Rehobeth
A Civil War training camp located on the grounds of Coventry Church.

NEED MORE INFO: Battery Point near Gunpowder Falls State Park, south of Harewood.
Towns: Garrison north of Baltimore.

Greater Baltimore area - page 2 | Western Maryland - page 3